Working with young employees – all you need to know about their rights.

15 November 2018

There are several employment rights when someone starts a new job, but young workers (under 18) have different rights to protect them at work. We’ve previously discussed this topic about the different employment statuses. You can read the whole article here.

In England, young people are required to stay in education or training until the age of 18. They can work part-time or take on a work-based learning, such as an apprenticeship.
But let’s see what their rights are so you can be prepared when the times come to hire someone under 18. However, once someone reaches 16, you may need to pay them through PAYE.

Working hours

Young employees have more rights than an adult.
See what else you need to keep in mind with their working hours and breaks:

At least 2 days off per week

30 minutes break when they work more than 4.5 hours

12 hours between finishing their work on one day and starting their work the next day

Not more than 40 hours of work per week or 8 hours per day

National Minimum Wage

Most workers over school leaving age will be entitled to receive the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage. Young workers must be paid the correct rate for their age.
You can read more about the National Minimum Wage if you click here.

Health and Safety

Employers have the same responsibility for workers under 18’s health and safety as they do for other workers.
Young employees might need additional training to carry out their work without putting themselves and others at risk. They won’t have experience and for that reason, age limits are in place on the use of work equipment. It helps them to understand the consequences of their actions and making sure everyone using the work equipment in the safest possible way. This is especially important when working in Rigging or handling any heavy (and expensive) equipment.

Working at night

The night shift usually starts at 10 pm and finishes at 6 am. Young people, especially workers under 18 are not entitled to work during the night.
There are some exceptions, but none relevant to the AV industry.

Here at Prospero we hire many school leavers under the age of 18, to give them the relevant work experience and to get their foot in the “AV door”. If this is something you’d like to do for your business too, get in touch below.